Palladium Books® Weekly Update – October 31, 2024

ONE GAME SYSTEM – EVERY GENRE – COUNTLESS WORLDS – ENDLESS ADVENTURE

Palladium Books^® Weekly Update

October 31, 2024

Happy Halloween! Be safe out there when trick or treating with the kids or going to parties tonight and over the weekend. There’s a lot of news and updates. Enjoy.

SALE FINAL Hours – DriveThruRPG.com Halloween Horror Sale. This is your last chance to stock up on thousands of horror RPG products as PDF books from Palladium and many other companies. Beyond the Supernatural, Dead Reign®, Nightbane®, and other Palladium titles across the Megaverse® with an element of horror are all part of the sale. And it’s not just haunting Palladium PDF titles, but those of Chaosium, Pinnacle, and dozens of other RPG companies to get your scare on. Check it out before it’s too late. Sale ends 10:00 AM Eastern Time Friday morning, November 1.

Also available on DriveThruRPG.com – The Nightbane® Automated Character Sheet! It follows a similar format as the popular Rifts® Automated Character Sheet designed by Greg Diaczyk. There’s also a Palladium Fantasy Interactive Character Sheet and NPC Sheet. See more details below or on DriveThruRPG.

SALE! The best deal in gaming – Palladium Christmas Surprise Package – $100+ in product for $60 plus shipping – available now! But don’t take our word for it.

A.W. in Mountain Grove, Missouri, had this to say (in part): “This will be my second Surprise Package this year! The first one arrived so soon after ordering, I wasn’t expecting it. Which makes it one of the best birthday gifts I’ve ever received … I will definitely be buying a few more of these before the year is out.”

W.M.C. in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, said (in part): “Wow. Is it that time of year already? Love these Christmas packages. With the godawful exchange and shipping rates to Canada, this is the best way to acquire new (and rare) Palladium book titles.

R.M. in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, writes: “Second year ordering the Grab Bag. It’s a fantastic deal I now look forward to. Thank you and happy holidays!”

A typical Surprise Package nets you 4-6 books, signed by Kevin Siembieda and available staff if you request it. That’s 4-6 books for what you’d usually pay for ONE core rule book! The Surprise Package is the perfect gamer gift for the holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries; something special and all on the cheap! You can also treat yourself with books you’ve been wanting, or try new game settings, or replace battered old books. Don’t limit yourself to just books either, everything in the Palladium store can be considered for your Surprise Package – miniatures, poker decks, art prints, bookmarks, coffee mugs, greeting cards, and other products. See more details by clicking the link below and learn why the Christmas Surprise Package has been a fan favorite for 26 years. No other game company does anything like this. Limited time offer.

News! Join Kevin Siembieda and Sean Owen Roberson for a “live chat” about magic and psionics on Legion of Myth – Sunday, November 3, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. Join the fun. Do we need to say more?

News! Glitterbois podcast – Rifts® Part One and Two coming soon. We believe the Rifts® Part One podcast with Kevin Siembieda and the guys has been made available or will be posted soon (this weekend?). Meanwhile, Kevin and the Glitterbois have already recorded Rifts® Part Two so it should go live in a week or two. We’re delighted you are enjoying these podcasts, as well as the chats on Legion of Myth and Palladium’s YouTube video history of Palladium Books with Kevin Siembieda and J-M DeFoggi.

News! Palladium Books® YouTube Channel offers the Official History of Palladium Books. Two episodes are available now with many more coming every other week (20+ are in the can). These friendly and candid conversations are already a hit with fans, which makes us all very happy, especially Kevin and J-M.

The first 24 or so episodes recount the history of Palladium Books in loose chronological order by game line. Watch for more fun in the months ahead including Tales of the Defilers and interviews with notable Palladium Books creators like Sean Owen Roberson, Matthew Clements, Matthew Balent, Ramon K. Perez, Freddie E. Williams II, and others. Please offer suggestions about topics of discussion for our future consideration. Thank you.

News! What’s hot at Palladium this week – Palladium Fantasy® remains crazy hot this week along with all things Rifts® and Dead Reign®. Among Surprise Packages we are seeing requests for all our game lines across the board, but particularly Rifts®, Chaos Earth®, Palladium Fantasy, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Systems Failure, Dead Reign® and Nightbane®. Thank you for your support and keep the orders coming.

News! Coming November 12, 2024 – Rifts® for Savage Worlds: Europa Kickstarter by Pinnacle Entertainment – Even if you don’t use the Savage Worlds game system you may want to check it out. Why? Because it fills in the blanks about Rifts® Europe (Italy, Germany, France, England, etc.) as of 109 PA. This is ALL “official” world and source material authorized and approved by Palladium Books (specifically Sean Roberson and Kevin Siembieda). Which means you can easily adapt the world information, gear, maps, adventures, and more into your Palladium Rifts campaign or start a new one. Learn more by clicking the link below to see the Rifts® Europa Kickstarter preview page. Game on and enjoy.

Christmas Surprise Package – Now Shipping

Huge savings, surprises, and autographs (if you request them) that thrill the purchaser. This is the 26th year we are offering this fan favorite Christmas season bargain because we love doing it as much as you love getting them.

What is a Christmas Surprise Package?

A smile and a hug that comes in a box filled with signed game books from available Palladium staff and freelancers. It is a way for you to get physical books (and autographs if you want them) at PDF prices! $100+ worth of Palladium products for only $60 (plus shipping)! That can nab you four or more items when these days one core rule book can cost you that alone.

These Christmas Surprise Packages are our way of saying thank you for your support and showing you our love and appreciation. It’s a surprise because you never know exactly what you’re going to get or who will sign your books, because we pick from your Wish List and may surprise you with stuff you are not expecting. Extra items may include other RPGs, sourcebooks, issues of the Rifter®, novels, miniatures, prints, art books, greeting cards, T-shirts, negatives, and other items. Some books may be slightly damaged (scuffs, scratches, dings, a bent or crunched corner, etc.) so we can send you more.

No other RPG company on the planet has an offer like this. Truly the best deal in gaming to get unique and special holiday gifts for the gamers in your life, or for yourself.

Christmas Surprise Packages are not just for Christmas. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or the Winter Solstice, or you are looking for that special gift for a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or any special occasion that falls between now and the end of the year, a Surprise Package may be the ideal way to go. You get a ton of stuff on the cheap, you can get a bunch of autographs (if you want ‘em), and you look like you spent a fortune.

This is also a great way to try that game setting you’ve wondered about – Splicers®, Dead Reign®, Chaos Earth®, Palladium Fantasy®, Nightbane®, Beyond the Supernatural, Rifts®, RECON, After the Bomb®, etc. – or to get something for your favorite Game Master. Or perhaps, to get your player group to consider a new game or setting.

Your “Wish List” is vital – the Palladium Surprise Packages are designed to simulate the joy and surprise of the Christmas Season of Giving. To do this, you submit a list of 12-15 Palladium products (or more) FOR EACH Surprise Package you order. This list of 12-15 items for EACH Grab Bag is critical, because you will not know which items we will select to send you. That makes it just like a Christmas gift because it’s a surprise. Plus, Surrogate Santa Kevin, who personally hand-picks every item for every Grab Bag, may toss in something extra like a limited edition print, or a negative or similar collector’s item, or an issue of The Rifter®, or something else he thinks you’ll enjoy.

Autographed books. For those of you who want them (which are most people), available members of the Palladium staff, and any freelancers we can lasso at the time, are happy to autograph each and every book in your Surprise Package. This is the only way many fans across the country and overseas can ever get signed books.

Send us your brief comments. There is a special form and format to fill out for Christmas Surprise Packages, including a place where you can offer your brief comments, suggestions, greetings and salutations.

First-timers are always nervous until they see the great value in their first Surprise Package. A typical Grab Bag has $100+ worth of product. Yes, often more, for only $60 plus shipping. Many people order 2-3. Some order 4-6, and some maniacs order even more! It makes sense, because it is a great way to fill holes in your own collection, treat yourself, get autographs, try new games and settings, rebuild your collection, replace worn out books, and get your gaming pals gifts. Only from PalladiumBooks.com – happy holidays. PLEASE spread the word about this great offer. Note: Search online for Palladium Surprise Package box opening videos to get an idea of what you can expect to receive. I know the Legion of Myth, among others, has such videos.

To those of you outside the USA, the X-Mas Surprise Package is a way to get books and circumvent the damn high cost of shipping from the United States, since you are getting $110 (often more) worth of product and only paying $60 plus shipping. Shipping via Priority Mail International (required for packages weighing more than four pounds) to most locations in Europe, Canada and many other countries is around $70-80 US dollars. HOWEVER, because the cost of the product is so low, that’s the equivalent of paying retail for the products and only $20-$40 for shipping. A very good deal. Plus you get autographs if you want them! X-Mas Surprise Packages are the way to go for those of you outside the USA. Please take advantage of it to get all those products you’ve wished you could get except the shipping was too prohibitive. We feel your pain. Game on!

Please spread the word. The Christmas Surprise Package is only publicized by word of mouth, on Palladium's website, and social media, so please tell everyone you know. Buy one for every gamer you know. They make astonishing gifts for every occasion. Only from PalladiumBooks.com – happy holidays.

GiveSendGo Fundraising for BRIC needs our help

Some of you have supported this good cause before. It is a charity close to the heart of me and Sean, and every dollar goes direct to the people who need it, which makes a HUGE difference in saving lives in the Congo. Even a small donation is greatly appreciated, so please give if you can. Thank you so very much for your past financial support of RIGHT’s efforts to feed and protect the people rescued and sustained by the lifesaving BRIC project.

Through your donations, BRIC has been able to install an armored security gate, build enclosure walls, construct a building for offices and classrooms, and an enlarge a stage where students perform the creative, self-help exercises learned through BRIC seminars, as well as music and dance performances that inform and uplift the community. Most recently, they have built a small structure with a toilet and shower, as well as installed basic electricity to the compound. All of this is in addition to rescuing and rehabilitating those once forced into service as child soldiers and worse by rogue warlords and bandits.

These life sustaining improvements could not happen without your prayers and financial assistance since 2022, but our crusade to save and improve the lives of the people in the region is far from complete.

Feuding rebel warlords dangerously close to the homes of the people of Goma continue to control many roads, disrupt and block food supply lines, and harass the people. This has forced many citizens of Goma to turn to BRIC for help. Without that help, they must resort to foraging for food in the rebel-filled forest where they risk their lives or capture. Children left alone while parents forage for food are at great risk of being kidnapped and trafficked. BRIC allows fathers and mothers to drop their children at the enclosure. At this safe haven the children are fed with limited supplies of food, given school lessons, and provided other help as needed.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. People are displaced, starving, and homeless. Making safe havens like BRIC necessary for survival. Please join me (Kevin Siembieda) and Sean Owen Roberson by helping in any way you can. Your donations, small or large, will save lives. Thank you.

AVAILABLE NOW!

BACK IN STOCK!

Yin-Sloth Jungles, 2nd Edition, Revised and Expanded!

The Yin-Sloth Jungles™ is a savage and unexplored wilderness filled with exotic people, strange creatures, ancient ruins, dark gods, and ancient secrets waiting to be unearthed.

- 15 O.C.C.s, all updated and expanded, making them seem brand new: Beastmaster, Holy Crusader, Jungle Fighter, Man-Catcher, the unique Tezcat and Pygmy Shamans, Spy, Undead Hunter, and Witch Hunter, among others.

- 18 Jungle People and monsters updated and expanded to feel like new, plus a few additions.

- New and expanded Shaman Chant magic.

- New and unique Pygmy Shaman Chant magic.

- New and expanded history of the Yin-Sloth Jungles.

- Expanded and clarified weapons, jungle armor, poisons, & more.

- The Orcish Empire and a few notable cities.

- Filled with great artwork by Peterson (ROG) and Mike Mumah.

- Written by Kevin Siembieda, John Klinkel, and Patrick Nowak.

- 160 pages – $24.99 retail – Cat. No. 459 – available now.

- COMING SOON! Yin-Sloth Expeditions setting and adventure book.

Now on DriveThruRPG!

NEW! Yin-Sloth Jungles, 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded PDF on DriveThruRPG.com

Yin-Sloth Jungles, 2nd Edition is now available as a PDF book on DriveThruRPG.com – and so is the original 1st Edition book. Get one or both to compare or have in your PDF reference library.

DriveThruRPG.com Halloween Horror Sale offers all kinds of horror RPGs and sourcebooks as PDF books from Palladium and many other companies. Palladium’s Halloween Sale may be over (Or is it? Use the Surprise Package to get all the spooky books you want!) but the DriveThruRPG Halloween Sale has only just begun. And it’s not just haunting Palladium PDF titles on sale but those of Chaosium, Pinnacle, and dozens of other RPG companies. Thousands of titles to get your scare on. Check it out.

NEW! Nightbane^® Automated Character Sheet

Now available on DriveThruRPG.com – The Nightbane Automated Character Sheet follows a similar format as the popular Rifts® Automated Character Sheet designed by Greg Diaczyk.

• Microsoft Excel-based system for creating, updating, and tracking your Nightbane RPG characters quickly and easily. Once you know the system, you can have characters up and ready in 10-15 minutes!

• Create your human Facade and Nightbane Morphus in minutes.

• Offers a vast range of Morphus choices.

• Select from scores of Common and Elite Nightbane Talents.

• Spells, psionics, and more.

• $5.00 – Available now on DriveThruRPG.com and coming soon on PalladiumBooks.com – Created by Greg Diaczyk.

300+ RPG products on DriveThru – a dozen unique world settings – one game system – endless possibilities. No other game company offers game worlds for so many different genres. Best of all, learn to play one Palladium RPG and you can play them all, because each uses the same basic core rules and combat. There are differences, but the fundamentals are the same. This also means you can bring characters, villains, monsters, powers, magic, weapons, gear, and adventure ideas from one setting into another or mash them together!

In addition to PDF titles for entire game lines like Rifts®, Palladium Fantasy®, Heroes Unlimited™, Ninjas & Superspies™, After the Bomb®, Beyond the Supernatural™, Dead Reign® (zombies), Nightbane® (Urban Fantasy), Rifts Chaos Earth®, Systems Failure™, Splicers®, RECON®, The Rifter® #1-85, and others, there are Game Master and player aids, character generators, paper minis, map packs, and FREE Previews of books like Creature Feature™, Dead Reign, Coalition Manhunters, Titan Robotics™, Rifts Bestiary Volume One, World Books, Dimension Books, and more to give you a glimpse of what’s in the book. Enjoy endless adventures across the Megaverse®.

Palladium Collectibles – at Kevin’s Online Toy & Collectibles eBay Store

I am adding new collectibles of all kinds to my Ebay store in time for the holiday season. Some are Palladium negatives, rare and out of print books, original Palladium artwork, prints, posters, as well as other collectible toys, action figures, Nightmare Before Christmas items, one-of-a-kind proofreader copies, books, and other good stuff – including Erick Wujcik’s rare and sought after Amberzine #12-15. Check in every week or so to see what’s new. All items come from Kevin Siembieda’s personal collection.

One-of-a-kind Palladium Books negatives (special and rare collectibles). Negatives are always very popular items at the Palladium Open House, Gen Con, and conventions, and are catching on as rare collectibles, unique in and of themselves. Before digital printing, pages of a book were laid out by hand on a board, and each page was photographed.

• Each negative is truly unique, attractive, and fun to have.

• Own a piece of Palladium Books and RPG history you will treasure.

• Each was used to print the very book you may have in your collection (1981-2004).

• Each is signed in silver ink by Kevin Siembieda and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

• Each negative is a one-of-a-kind work of art (on rare occasions, two-of-a-kind if a page or section of pages were replaced or a second edition was made).

• Looks great matted or framed! Fits an 8x10 inch matt opening. Each neg is roughly 8 ½ x 11 inches.

• Prices vary depending on the title, the art, and quality of the negative. Note: Many have scratches, or blemishes, and/or an opaque medium on the negative. Still, they look great and are a piece of RPG history. We recommend you carefully examine the photographs of each item to avoid disappointment. The negatives of many books are sold out or were never available.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Scary Stuff

Gonna keep this one short. There’s a lot of scary and worrisome things going on in the world, but try not to let them bring you down. Instead, focus on gaming and good things like friends and family, and gaming. (Did I mention gaming?) Games, especially role-playing games, are an amazing escape from everyday worries. Sean and I were just gushing and recounting each of our favorite past games with friends involving demonic swords. We both got animated and excited retelling these adventures like a couple of nerdy fan boys. But you know what, we were laughing and having a good time just talking about our past games. This is why we love role-playing games so much. There’s nothing like them and the joyful memories and friendships last a lifetime.

I haven’t mentioned it much in these Updates lately, but the TMNT and Other Strangeness RPG Redux editions and related items are moving along. The books look amazing. How amazing? A visiting Westland Fire Department Captain expressed interest in the project, so Sean showed him the finished layout pages on his computer. This gentleman is not even an active gamer, but he went nuts over what he saw. He loved the art and layout and kept saying how these books are “going to kill” when they hit the stores. He went wild over the miniatures, too. He even wants to buy the books just to have and read. And this is from a non-gamer. Looking great. Sean is pulling out all the stops.

As for the election next week, if your preferred candidate loses, it is not the end of the world. Things will be okay. Stay frosty and hopeful. Drown your misery in a Palladium Surprise Package. Game on.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Game Designer, Friend, and Surrogate Santa